Lonely
by Skylin3
Summary: Yukari tries to understand why Makoto is so detached from the world. She wants to help him, but can she? She hopes she can, at least enough for him to know that it's okay to get close. A work that encompasses bits from the Persona 3 movies and the games into one piece. Cross-posted on Ao3 as well! (FIXED CODING ERROR!)
1. Chapter 1 - Burn My Dread

"Are you that scared of dying?"

Yukari had decided to skip out on Tartarus tonight due to the upcoming midterms for the semester. However, she wasn't getting much done as those words from Makoto kept repeating themselves over and over again in her head. She remembered that night quite well. They were investigating the monorail for a "big one." At least that's what they called the shadows who happened to be outside of Tartarus wreaking havoc on the city. They had just entered one of the trains that coincidentally happened to have its doors open; almost as if it was inviting them in. Once they entered the train doors had slammed shut and the train had begun to move on its own.

Mitsuru warned the new members of S.E.E.S to tread carefully, to which Makoto had simply agreed to with no thought whatsoever. Yukari didn't mind the decision much then, but Junpei in a fit of jealousy charged on ahead proclaiming that "Just you watch. I'll beat that thing by myself!" Yukari had reached out her hand in an attempt to stop Junpei; narrowly missing him as he headed into the next car.

"Ugh! Stupei! Get back here, it's too dangerous to go alone!"

Yukari made chase after Junpei, but she quickly stopped as she noticed Makoto had yet to move an inch from where he stood. Was he afraid? She doubted it, seeing as how nonchalantly he had been behaving since his arrival at the dorm.

"Are you coming or what?!" Yukari shouted.

"What for?"

"What do you mean what for?! He's our teammate and no matter how stupid he can be; we still have to help him!"

Makoto only gave a quick blink before nodding "Understood." and followed Yukari further into the train. They were met with resistance from car to car, luckily for her, Makoto had at least been good at fighting and the two made quick work of the shadows. It wasn't they had reunited with Junpei and defeated the massive shadow that they realized death was still coming for them. For whatever reason, the train continued to move even after the shadow was defeated. Panicked, Yukari and Junpei made a run for the control room and frantically searched for a method to stop the train. Makoto slowly walked up to them and let out those words.

"Are you that scared of dying?"

Without another moment's notice, Makoto had instinctively grabbed on to the brake lever of the train and pulled it; bringing the train to a complete stop mere inches away from another. The other two had let out a sigh of relief. Mitsuru had then contacted them to ensure everyone's safety, to which all of them confirmed. The team then exited the train and returned to the dorms for the night. Though those same words plagued her mind since then and now today was no different.

"How could he say something like that?" she sighed. "Of course I was scared! That idiot probably wouldn't know what death was if it hit him in the face!"

Though she was in the comfort of her room a part of her still regretted saying that, even if nobody was able to hear her. It was just that she couldn't understand how Makoto could be such an ignorant person, especially when his appearance completely betrayed that identity that he seemed to don around them. Did it have something to do with that night ten years ago on the moonlight bridge? If so, why did he shut himself in that much? Why not talk it out with someone? She may not be able to relate to him completely, but she did at least know the pain of losing a parent. That was impossible for her to forget.

"It must be lonely to live like that… " she looked around her room and then again at her study notes. "I'm not going to get anything done today, am I? You know what, I'll go for a walk, the dark hour is still two hours away anyway."

Yukari closed up her notebook and slid it to a corner on her desk. She grabbed her boots from underneath her pink blanketed bed and exited her room. As she began going down the hall and the stairs, she caught sight of a familiar blue-haired student who happened to be sitting in one of the couches that resided in the corner of the boy's hall.

"Oh hey, Makoto-kun. What are you doing up still?"

"Hm? Nothing much. I just couldn't sleep."

"Did you have a nightmare or something?"

"I don't know." Makoto deadpanned.

Yukari growing slightly annoyed by his continued nonchalant behavior let out a heavy sigh. "Well whatever, I'm going out for a walk. I'll be back before the dark hour begins."

"Okay."

Yukari continued her way down the stairs, but just before the second floor had disappeared out of her sight, she decided to try one last time and turned back to where Makoto was sitting.

"Hey, do you want to come?"

"What for?"

Finally, Yukari snapped.

"Stop that! It's a simple yes or no question! Do you want to come? I can go by myself, but I thought just maybe you could accompany me."

"Fine."

"Fine, what?"

"Fine, I'll go with you Yukari-san."

"There, was that so hard?"

Makoto didn't answer back and instead got up from his spot and descended the stairs to where Yukari was. The two continued down further until they reached the lobby and exited out the front door.

Their walk had been quiet for the most part, with only the sound of their footsteps and the wind occasionally cause a sound or two. Yukari didn't exactly mind the silence as it was Makoto who was next to her, but for a walk with two people, she would have hoped that at least some small talk would be made. So she decided to initiate the conversation first.

"It's pretty calm out tonight isn't it?" she said as she gazed up to the brilliant crescent moon in the sky.

"Yeah it is, I guess."

Yukari bit her lip as she was about to explode on Makoto again. She tended to always let her emotions get the best of her, but she realized that she wasn't here to yell at someone tonight, she just wanted a breather. So taking a moment to collect her thoughts and inhaling a deep breath before letting it out, she decided to ask him.

"Makoto-kun, why are you always like that?"

"Like what?" he replied.

"Like you're always so distant from everyone and everything. It makes it hard to approach you or even look at you sometimes." Yukari thought carefully about what she was going to say next, She didn't want to upset him after all, but could he even get upset at this point? His behavior said otherwise. "It feels like you're quietly trying to reach out for help, but the moment anyone tries to be there for you; you immediately cut them off and close yourself up again… Isn't that a way too lonely way to live?"

Makoto stayed silent at her words. He wasn't really upset, but more intrigued that she cared so much about him. Of course, she was just trying to be friendly and form a bond of sorts, but he still didn't have the intention of letting her in. Then it hit him; the flashback; the flashback of his parent's death and the accident from ten years ago. His eyes went wide-eyed as he remembered the horror of the scene. He was only a small six-year-old boy when it all happened. He remembered being able to spot his mother from the wreckage. He looked at her and saw that she had been moving her lips as if she was giving one final message to the boy she would leave behind. Suddenly, he shook his head and tried to forget it all again. He happened to look at Yukari who stood there in front of him with worry riddled all over her face.

"H-hey you okay? I didn't say anything wrong, did I?"

"N-no, you're fine, I just got tired all of a sudden." Makoto sighed. "Can we go back? I don't feel like being outside that much anymore."

"S-sure, the dark hour is going to start in a few minutes anyway, we should get back."

Yukari and Makoto began to make their way back to the dorm. Why did Makoto suddenly want to return? She hoped it wasn't anything she said, but now she couldn't help but feel like maybe it was her fault. _Should I just apologize to him right now…_ _No, he clearly said it was fine right? But… maybe I should?_

"I'm sorry Makoto-kun… I shouldn't have judged you the way I did…" she said without a second thought

"What are you talking about?" His response lacked any emotion, making it impossible once again for Yukari to tell if he was offended or not.

"Nevermind, it's not that important."

Now Yukari knew he was hiding something and she just had to know what it was. But for now, it would have to wait she thought. Right now their safety inside the dorm away from the shadows mattered most. Just as they reached the doorstep of the dorm the inside became an eerie green color. _The dark hour… well, at least we made it back…_ Yukari thought to herself. She saw that Makoto made it to his room and wished him a good night, to which Makoto gave a slight wave of the hand; typical for his behavior.

As Yukari re-entered her room she plopped herself on her bed and tried to sleep away the dark hour. However, she just wasn't able too and tossed and turned for a while before finally saying what she was thinking aloud.

"What are you hiding Makoto? I want to understand you better so we can get along better, but you aren't making this easy…"

The dark hour finally wore off as she continued in deep thought. It wasn't that she _liked_ Makoto, she was just concerned for him as teammate naturally would be. He was dealing with something and she wanted to help in whatever way possible. At least to make up for all the times he had to protect her because she would clam up during a fight. It was the right thing to do, right?

_I hope it is..._


	2. Chapter 2 - Want To Be Close

"Hello there. We meet again, haha." The mysterious boy said.

"..." Makoto stayed silent.

"What? I don't even get a simple greeting?" the mysterious boy sighed. "Well, I suppose that doesn't matter as I've come to warn you of the next grand ordeal."

"Ordeal?" Makoto finally spoke.

"Yes, exactly ten days from now, another one of them will appear. I trust that you know what to do?"

"Yeah."

"Wonderful, I'm so glad to see that you understand," the boy smiled. "Well, I'll be taking my leave now, see you later."

The mysterious boy quickly faded away into the night, with the dark hour following closely behind him. Makoto had been seeing this boy ever since he arrived at the dorm. He never really understood why he always happened to appear, nor did he care. After all, all Makoto ever did was accept anything that was asked of him. That's how he so casually managed to join S.E.E.S. and quickly became their leader. He just always seemed so fearless when it came to fighting shadows, though his teammates namely Yukari saw him as a lonely person or better yet an emotionless puppet. That last part he made up himself, however, he didn't care if people saw him one way or the other. He was just here to fulfill his role.

It was mainly he never felt like thinking so much about any one thing. To him, panic or fears meant to breathe heavily which was already tiring in it of itself. So he always donned on a personality that lacked emotion, making him quite a lonely person.

Hmm… Maybe Yukari-san was right… It's not like it matters anyway.

* * *

Makoto felt his eyelids becoming heavier and heavier with each passing second. Soon he would fall asleep and continue living out the same routine. Not that he cared again, it's what he knew best.

An alarm went off, which woke up Makoto slowly as he lazily snoozed it. He had just gotten out of his bed when a knock sounded at his door.

"Hey, it's me, Yukari."

"Come in," he replied.

"Hey, I just wanted to know if you'd like to walk to school today," Yukari said as she let herself in. "I didn't have practice this morning and the others seem to be busy with third-year stuff, well except Junpei, he's at the gym right now."

"Sure, I'll go."

"Great! I'll be waiting for you downstairs."

Yukari exited his room and left him to get ready for the day. Makoto noticed that she had been suspiciously getting close the past couple of days, especially after that night during their walk. Though he figured that it didn't matter really except for the fact that that flashback made itself known to him again. Of all the times why did he remember it then? It's not like it was related at all to Yukari's question. So why did it matter? Sure the memory of it was painful to him, something he didn't show often, but why then. He let out a sigh and shook his head as to forget because it was better this way...

A few minutes later and he was with Yukari in the lobby. She was sitting on one of the couches near the center table of the room. She perked her head up to make eye contact with Makoto and gave a small wave before calling out to him.

"You ready?"

"Yeah."

"Alright, let's go then."

The pair exited the dorm and headed for Gekkoukan. The walk itself was filled with Yukari's usual banter about how excited she was for the semester to end so she could go to the summer festival. She even teased him in asking him if he wanted to go with her, before laughing it off and continuing to attempt more small talk. However, Makoto tuned out for the most part while giving the occasional nod or two to show that he somewhat heard what she was saying. Yukari was no idiot though, she could tell he wasn't paying much attention and it bothered her. Not because he wasn't attentive, she already expected that but because she had hoped that being a little more talkative around him would slowly cause him to open up more. She hoped to find out why he was so distant when everyone around practically invited him for a talk. Even so, she bit her lip holding back her anger because she knew that she was doing this to help, not to be helped. That's the best she could do, though she wondered if she could keep it up for much longer…

Two gossiping schoolgirls passed them as the silence between them settled in. They were laughing about how they managed to bully some innocent girl and get her locked up in the gym closet the night prior. "You should have seen her face, she was like 'No please, Natsuki!' but we still shoved her in." said one student as she burst into laughter.

"Natsuki, we should have taken her out don't you think?" said the other.

"Nah, the janitor probably let her out this morning she'll be fine," said Natsuki. "Plus I'm telling you that face was priceless! You were outback guarding us, but I saved some pictures, look!"

The other student a hold of Natsuki's phone and a malicious smirk formed all over her face. "You're right! She's totally helpless!"

The pair of girls continued to laugh it off carelessly as they entered the school gate. Meanwhile, Yukari's face began to twist in a look of disgust for the two girls.

"Ugh. I hate students like those two."

"Is that so?" Makoto deadpanned.

"Could you at least pretend to care?! Sheesh…" Yukari looked down at Makoto disappointed by his continued behavior. "Whatever, let's get going the first bell is about to ring."

Makoto nodded and followed Yukari to their classroom. Lectures had begun it was the same for every period today. It was a case of constantly asking Makoto questions or him having to save others from embarrassing themselves in front of the teacher. He didn't mind as he always managed to somehow pay attention and study for himself anyways. It wasn't until about the final class for the day where Makoto had decided to doze off out of sheer boredom for everything in general.

Eventually, classes came to an end and they were greeted by Akihiko who had entered their classroom. Surprisingly, Junpei happened to still be there as well, struggling to pack up quickly because he had fallen asleep mid-lecture.

"Are you guys busy tonight?" Akihiko asked.

"No, not really? Why did you have in mind senpai?" Yukari answered.

"We have another person with the potential. It's a girl who goes by the name of Fuuka Yamagishi, however, she was absent today. Anyway come to the dorm we'll discuss more there."

"Sure thing senpai!" Junpei blurted out as he joined the other three.

Akihiko nodded and saw himself out. Yukari had seemed to be uncomfortable after hearing the news. Junpei immediately noticed, which unlike Makoto was strange since he rarely ever paid attention due to him always being entertained by other things.

"Something wrong Yuka-tan? You don't look so happy there."

"Huh? Oh… it's just that don't you feel like we're forcing people to join us? I mean I only joined because I want to find out what happened to my father. And you joined well because you want to play the hero."

"Ouch. I resent that you know." Junpei said with a slight teasing but upset tone.

"S-sorry that was uncalled for. I've just been on edge lately and Makoto hasn't been helping here."

"Oh? What did he do to upset you? Don't tell me it was a feud between a couple." Junpei joked wholeheartedly.

"I-it's not like that!" Yukari shouted.

"I know, I know. You did know that, right Yuki? Uh, Yuki? Hey, where'd he go?"

Junpei turned around to see that Makoto had already left the classroom. Curious they both rushed out of the classroom and saw him heading downstairs to the first hall.

"Yo Yuka-tan is he always like that?"

"Yeah… he only does what he's told and then he leaves out of nowhere. I am so sick and tired of it. It's like he never cares about anyone or even himself!" she said angrily.

"Woah, is everything okay between you two? I mean I know I acted out of line last time, but it seems something deeper is going on between you two…" Junpei said. "Come on we've been friends since middle school yeah? Tell me what's up."

Yukari hesitated for a moment. Would she tell Junpei everything? Sure he could be quite bone-headed, but it seemed like he genuinely cared this time around. Maybe talking it about it unlike a certain someone would help her feel better.

"Well, it's just that I get this feeling that he's lonely… Maybe I'm just assuming things, but I think that he acts like a robot because he doesn't want to get close to anyone. Not that he hates us, but he doesn't realize it himself to avoid getting hurt or whatever." Yukari felt small bits of tears forming around the corner of her eyes. She held them back as much as she could before Junpei could notice.

"Dude that's pretty deep, but when I think about it, it kinda reminds of you in a way," Junpei immediately regretted saying that and quickly spoke to correct himself. "I-I mean it in a way like how you were before."

"Go on," Yukari said in a tone that she was ready to rip Junpei a new one if he misspoke further.

"W-wait, Yuka-tan let me explain! I mean back when we first met and something troubled you, you wouldn't speak out about it. You would just keep it to yourself and hold it back trying to forget it." Junpei thought about his next words carefully. "I mean you're more vocal now, which is a good thing! Just you know try to be easier on him okay?"

Surprisingly Yukari had gotten an answer she did not expect from Junpei. She was half expecting a joke and tease, but was floored to see him take this seriously. Realizing that she had stayed quiet from her disbelief she looked at Junpei again. "Thanks, Junpei. I'm glad you understand, but I just can't help it. Maybe I'm just too impulsive…"

"Nah. You're trying to help him that's cool of you, but try not stressing yourself over it either."

"Yeah you're right, I'll see what I can do. Come on, Akihiko-Senpai is waiting for us."

Junpei and Yukari exited the school and made their way to the dorm. Not much else was said between the two as all they could do was watch as Makoto walked away further and further…

It was the evening at the dorm when everyone including the chairman met in the command room to discuss the possible integration of Fuuka within S.E.E.S.

"Let's begin, shall we? Fuuka Yamagishi, a second-year student in classroom 2-E. She's shown quite the amount of potential." The chairman said.

"Yes, she has. However, Akihiko and others told me that she was absent today, so we still can't verify whether or not she's suitable to join S.E.E.S." Mitsuru spoke in a disappointed tone.

"Speaking of joining," Yukari added. "Don't you think that we might be forcing her to join?"

"Why the sudden question?" Akihiko asked.

"Well like I said, we don't even know the girl and already we're talking about her like she's part of the team." Yukari sighed.

"Takeba, I get where you're coming from, but you know it's vital that we get as many members as we can to fight off the shadows. And at the end of the day, it's her decision, not ours."

"Ms. Takeba, what Mitsuru-san is saying is correct, we're only here to discuss the possibility of her joining," the chairman added.

"I don't know, what do you think?" Yukari directed her question at Makoto.

"Makes no difference to me."

Yukari was about to lash out at Makoto's inconsiderate response. Junpei seemingly could see how Yukari's hands began to tense themselves up and quickly intervened.

"What he meant to say was he would like to see if she could be a new member, haha," Junpei said as he nudged Makoto's side with his elbow rapidly.

"Well, I suppose with all that out of the way for now." Mitsuru pushed her hair back a bit before refocusing her attention on the trio." Anyway, how have you all been? I'm referring to your time as persona users of course."

"I've been fine," Junpei answered.

"Same here, Mitsuru-senpai," Yukari followed.

"And you Yuki-kun?"

"Same."

"Well alright, then I guess this meeting is adjourned. I think we should rest up for tonight, we have some convincing to do this week."

* * *

Everyone nodded and returned to their rooms except for Makoto and Yukari who seemed to be avoiding eye contact, well more so Yukari. She wanted to say something about earlier or at least try to reach out one more time, but the more she thought about the less she wanted to do it. She let out a big sigh before finally getting up from the couch and returning to her room on the third floor. Makoto saw her go up with her head hung low and it sparked something in him momentarily, but just like her, he didn't act on it. Once he was sure she was gone he returned to his room as well and decided to call it a night.

The days passed and unfortunately, there was no Fuuka to be seen. The team eventually learned that she had ended up trapped in Tartarus after Yukari had remembered what she heard the pair of girls say the day she walked to school with Makoto. It became clear to the team what they had to do and prepared themselves for any battle they would have to face during tonight's dark hour. Natsuki, the girl who was gossiping that day, was also in their care seeing as she would probably be targeted by the shadows next.

"Alright, everyone we know that Yamagishi been in Tartarus for at least ten hours now. There's a chance that she's still alive and we have to confirm that no matter what!" Mitsuru commanded.

"That's right. So now we have to decide how we're doing this! Any ideas you three?" Akihiko asked Yukari, Junpei, and Makoto.

"I can always sneak us in at night! I know of a spot that's easy to get into." Junpei suggested.

"It seems to be a little risky, but's our best shot for now," Mitsuru added.

"Yukari, Makoto do you guys object?"

"I think we should be fine," Yukari said.

"I don't care," Makoto added.

"In that case, you're our leader again Makoto," Akihiko said.

"Understood."

Yukari felt rage build up inside her again. 'I don't care' how can he say that so casually?! Sure he agreed to help but again just because he was asked too! He doesn't care! She thought to herself. Unable to contain her anger any longer she let it out.

All of it.

"If you don't care, then don't come," she spoke softly with the seeping tinge of anger slowly accompanying her voice. "Don't come if you don't care! You'll only slow us down and possibly get all of us hurt!"

"Woah Yuka-tan relax this isn't the time too-"

"Don't tell me to relax! He's done nothing, but accept what others tell him to do! He doesn't do it because he cares for me or any of you for that matter!" she paused looking back to Makoto straight in his dull blue eyes. "So just stay! Unless you care then come, otherwise we can do this without you!"

Yukari walked out of the dorm and awaited the rest of them to join her. Unsure of what to do the other's looked toward Mitsuru. She simply let out a sigh and agreed with Yukari.

"Yuki, I think you should stay behind. At least this way we have someone to look after Natsuki in case the shadows come here too."

"Understood."

The team made their way out of the dorm and joined up with Yukari. As for Makoto, he went upstairs to the boy's hall. He spotted Natsuki in the corner who had just so casually been twisting her hair in an obvious act of boredom. He brushed past her and went to the vending machine to buy a drink.

"Why are you all alone here?" Natsuki asked.

"Because she doesn't want me there," he said with no emotion in his tone.

"Who doesn't want you there?"

"Yukari-san."

"That's too bad. I heard they were gonna rescue Fuuka or whatever, not like I care. She's always been an annoying goodie two shoes."

"Right." Makoto completely blew off Natsuki and headed towards his room. Natsuki tried to tell him off but then it hit her just how much of a horrible person she was too Fuuka. Dread began to fall over her as she remembered how her friends were supposedly claimed by the vengeful spirit of Fuuka. She slid down the wall and planted her face inside her knees. Makoto saw her and once again that spark ignited inside of him. Not towards Natsuki necessarily, but more so a realization of the path he was heading down. Normally these things wouldn't matter to him as much, but maybe it was time to change? He shook his in denial and entered his bedroom. He plopped himself on his bed with little to no care.

They're fine, I'm sure of it.


	3. Chapter 3 - Mass Destruction

Footsteps could be heard coming from outside as Yukari, Junpei, Mitsuru, and Akihiko had arrived at the back entrance of the gym. Junpei had mentioned that he knew of an entrance that was easy to sneak into. Intrigued, Mitsuru wanted to see it for herself, though there wasn't much of a surprise, as all Junpei did was twist the door handle and the door opened by itself. Even so, Mitsuru still praised the young man.

"So you had unlocked it earlier? Tres Bien!"

"I know right, I am quite the genius aren't I?" Junpei sheepishly rubbed the back of his neck.

"I don't know if genius is the right word here…" Yukari added.

"Alright, enough talking," Akihiko interrupted the two. "Takeba, you're with me, Junpei you stay here and support Mitsuru."

"W-wait a minute, I'll go with you Senpai! I want to make up for last time!" Junpei pleaded in a sincere tone.

Akihiko looked at Junpei with distrust. He knew Junpei was a quite capable fighter, but it was his temper that Akihiko could not trust. The incident on the monorail could've killed Junpei, Yukari, and Makoto. There's no way Akihiko. would take him. Mitsuru on the other hand only let out a small chuckle, catching both the young men off guard.

"Trust isn't something that can be given back, it's earned back, Iori," she paused as she saw Junpei hang his head low in disappointment. "However, I'm willing to give you the chance."

Akihiko sighed at her decision. "Fine, if Mitsuru allows it, I'll allow it. But you'd better not mess this up!"

Junpei fiercely nodded his head side to side at getting his senpai's approval. "I won't, I swear!"

"Good," Akihiko nodded. "Well Takeba, you stay behind and support Mitsuru."

"What?! But-"

"What? Are you uncomfortable working with her?"

Yukari turned to face Mitsuru, who didn't seem to be affected by her protest. She _did _feel very uncomfortable around Mitsuru, but for completely different reasons of her own. And since Junpei wasn't going to back down she ultimately hid her discomfort and stayed behind with Mitsuru. Meanwhile, Junpei and Akihiko entered the quiet and empty gym as the dark hour approached. Yukari and Mitsuru relocated to the entrance of the school and set up base. Moments later and the sky turned into an ominous green and with it Tartarus manifested itself; soaring high into the air before locking each of its pieces into place.

"Though it is the place that harbors shadows, the sight of it all is still very impressive..." Mitsuru spoke out in awe.

"Yeah…" Yukari spoke with less enthusiasm.

Because for Yukari that same impressiveness didn't translate quite well. Especially, since after entering the tower all Mitsuru did was absorb herself into finding any possible threats for Akihiko and Junpei. Which left Yukari to sit around waiting for something to happen. To put it simply, she was bored and with Makoto not around, things were rather lackluster. Her eyes widened as she realized what had just gone through her head. _What I'm saying?! I told him to stay! Look at you, telling someone to care when you can't even decide on what to care about yourself… _she clapped her hands together on each side of her face, refocusing on the dull look of the lobby of Tartarus. She then turned to Mitsuru, who was still heavily focused on the other two.

"Is something wrong, Takeba?" Mitsuru spoke.

"H-huh?" Yukari gasped in surprise.

"Well, you looked at me. I may be focused on the task, but I am aware of my surroundings."

"Ha, perceptive as always."

"Quite. Anyways what's bothering you?"

Yukari doubted telling her right now. She just wasn't that close to Mitsuru as she was with the others. And her reason for being uncomfortable was closely tied to their parents, something Yukari just couldn't express that easily. Though if she was honest with herself, it wasn't about that right now. It was _him_ that kept her thinking.

"Um...Do you think Makoto-kun will come?"

"Why the sudden question? You did tell him to stay didn't you?" Mitsuru asked.

"Yeah… But I don't know, I'm starting to regret it." Yukari sighed. "I let my emotions get in the way and all I wanted to do was help him."

"Help him? How so?"

"I get this feeling that he's lonely, and well I wanted to keep him company since we're similar in some ways. Every time I try though, I'm met with an 'I don't care' or 'is that so?' " she took in a deep breath before letting it out slowly and refocusing her thoughts. "I just want to know why he's like that…"

"Sounds like you care for him a lot more than you let on," Mitsuru chuckled.

Yukari's cheeks became dusted with a light pinkish color. Did she care for him that much? And was it that obvious? _It couldn't be, right? She must be joking! _Yukari thought to herself. Meanwhile, Mitsuru had gone from chuckling to quiet laughter from Yukari's reaction

"My, my you seem to have reacted strongly."

"I-it's not like that." pouted a blushing Yukari.

"I know. Though whether he'll show up or not is still-"

A loud crash suddenly erupted from underneath the lobby of Tartarus. Mitsuru picked up on two different signals both of which seemed to radiate the same kind of energy the larger shadows tended to emit.

"What's happening?!" Yukari frantically asked.

"It must be the shadows! Quick guard me while I warn the others!"

Mitsuru summoned Pentheselia, in an attempt to reach the other two. At the same time, Yukari took a defensive stance. The crashing soon came to a halt, and two large shadows appeared before the two young girls. One appeared to look like an emperor, dressed in red regal attire, with a sword at its side. The other was much smaller and plumper in comparison, but it wore a blue dress and waved a wand around in its hand.

"The others aren't responding!" Mitsuru cried out in frustration. "Looks like we have to deal with them for now!"

"Got it!" Yukari nodded.

_I can do this right? Yeah, of course, I can! I just have to draw back my arrow and fire. Simple right?_

* * *

"Sure was nice of her, to let me come with you, huh Senpai?"

"I guess so, but try not to mess up okay?" Akihiko said in an abrasive tone

"Don't worry senpai! Junpei Iori doesn't mess up twice!" Junpei claimed while striking his "level up" pose as he called it.

"Right… Anyway, focus on finding Fuuka we should be-"

Footsteps could be heard on the other side of the halls. Akihiko immediately rushed to one of the corners for cover. Junpei followed along clumsily, almost crashing into Akihiko because of how dark it was. A shadow was barely made visible by the moon that was creeping about the tower. The shadow got closer and closer. The duo prepared for battle when suddenly the shadow began to call out.

"Is someone there?!"

_What the? A girl's voice? _Akihiko thought to himself.

Finally, a young girl about their age stepped out from where the shadow had been approaching. She was dressed in their Gekkoukan uniform with a blue sweater tucked underneath. She had short blue-green hair and was of relatively short stature.

"Are you Fuuka? Fuuka Yamagishi?" Akihiko called out.

"H-huh? Oh, yes that's me!" Fuuka answered back.

"Glad to see to you're safe! My name's Junpei, my buddy and I here came to rescue you." Junpei had rushed in front of Akihiko to greet Fuuka.

"Buddy?!" Akihiko called out in disbelief.

"Oh, that's very nice of you, but... " Fuuka looked down worriedly

"But what?" Junpei asked.

"There are two strange ones nearby. They aren't like the normal ones from before." Fuuka clarified.

"You mean the shadows? You can sense them?!" Akihiko looked at her in surprise

"If that's what you call those things, then yes I can," Fuuka said.

Suddenly it hit Akihiko. _She said she could detect shadows, but she also said that there were two strange ones; could it be those kinds of shadows?_ Akihiko looked towards the moon that had been staring them down. His eyes widened at the sudden realization that it was a full moon.

"Junpei was the moon the night of the monorail a full one as well?"

"Huh? I think it was, why?"

"There's a theory that the shadows are influenced by the phases of the moon." Akihiko clarified. "Depending on the phases of the moon only certain shadows appear."

"So you're what? Can we somehow know when the bigger ones will attack?"

"Well like I said it's only a theory, but if I add my own into it, they may appear tonight," Akihiko said with a tinge of excitement in his voice. "Think about it, the night on the monorail and Makoto's awakening, all of them were full moons."

"So what do you guys plan to do?" Fuuka asked.

"We'll fight them of course, right Junpei?"

"Yeah! We're gonna beat the-"

"Aki-... hi-... ko-... Shad-... ows-... Be-...careful!" a sudden transmission broke through, cutting off Junpei.

"Mitsuru? Hey, what's going on down there?! Mitsuru!"

Akihiko stopped trying to reach out to her and began bolting down the halls of Tartarus. Junpei taken by surprise took hold of Fuuka's hand and ran behind him. Whatever had Akihiko acting the way he did, Junpei knew it wasn't good. He only hoped that Mitsuru and Yukari were okay at least.

* * *

Makoto was in his room, still lying on his bed. Though this wasn't any different from the usual because whenever the team decided to skip out on Tartarus he would stare at the moon, mindlessly pressing away at his playlist. Though he did admit to himself that he had done it more so during the dark hour. Something about the green sky and the glowing yellow moon captured his attention. He couldn't quite place it, but it was if something kept calling out to him. Something he either forgot because he was too young to remember or something he chose to forget purposefully. After all, loneliness meant no pain and it made forgetting things that much easier.

And then as if to break that loneliness, the boy appeared yet again. Makoto noticed and turned his back to the boy, not caring for why he had appeared again. The boy instead of being bothered or annoyed simply let out a small chuckle.

"My, My it's no wonder that girl yelled at you."

"..."

"It's fine if you don't wish to speak, but I have to ask. Why is it that you stayed behind? You do know that today is the day I warned you about, yes?"

"Yukari-san told me to stay behind," Makoto answered flatly.

"Is that really why you stayed behind? Or was it hide your emotions, so that you wouldn't get closer."

"What are you trying to imply?" Makoto asked.

"I'm not implying anything, haha. I only state what I see."

"Whatever."

"I see that I have upset you. In that case, I'll be taking my leave now." the boy began to fade out of sight slowly. "Oh, but before I do go, know that they will die if you do nothing. You were a child then, but now you've grown up. Maybe you can change things now."

Before Makoto could turn around and ask what the boy was meant, he had already vanished. Makoto was left to ponder the words he left behind. _Change things? What does that mean? _he thought to himself. That mysterious boy knew a lot more about Makoto than he let on. Just what he was he referring, Makoto couldn't get the grasp of it.

He looked to the full moon of the dark hour and suddenly he heard the sound of a car crash. He blinked and just like that he was no longer in his room, but at Moonlight bridge. The incident of the car crash stood before him with flames erupting all around him. Blood covered the seats of the vehicle and two figures seemed to be stuck inside. Makoto began to lose the pace of his breathing; he was panicking. He knew what this was; it was his past from ten years ago. He tried so hard to forget, but now for whatever reason, it was here playing right in front of him. Makoto wanted it to stop all at once, to forget once more. And he was close to escaping it too until he saw that woman. The woman who just barely managed to pull herself out of the vehicle - his mother.

"M-mom?" His voice began to break.

Tears formed at the edges of Makoto's eyes. This was the reason why he was so distant; this was why he never cared about anything. He wanted to become nonexistent to others; to act as a blank slate. However, that just wasn't possible right now, his mother needed him. He could save her this time, he thought. Makoto rushed towards her but was quickly stopped abruptly by the swirling flames surrounding the car.

"Mom!" He cried out. "I'm coming!"

"Live…" she said.

"What…?" he looked at his mother in surprise who was smiling gently.

"Live, Makoto!"

The flames swallowed up the remains of the car and an explosion followed soon after. Makoto was sent flying off the Moonlight bridge and into the lake below. He failed to save her again, but was he ever meant to?

Makoto was back in his room. He shot up straight from his bed, gasping for air and panting heavily. Cold sweat ran down his back as he regained his senses. He had just re-lived the memory he had been trying so hard to forget. His mother was right; Yukari was right; he had to live, he just didn't know how to do so.

"Yukari… I-I am lonely, dammit…!" His voice broke.

He wanted to cry; to let out all suppressed emotions he had carried; to ask for forgiveness.

"I-I'm sorry everyone…! I will make it up to you, I swear it!"

Makoto fought back the tears once more and stood tall from his bed. He took a moment to breathe and relax; he was going to make this right; he was going to save them. Seconds later he ran out of his room, grabbed the keys to Mitsuru's motorcycle, and rushed out of the dorm and onto the bike. The loud start of the engine broke the crippling silence of the dark hour and Makoto sped off towards Tartarus.

* * *

"Arrggh!" Junpei screamed as he was sent flying.

"Iori!" Mitsuru cried out. "Takeba, heal him now!"

"R-right!"

Yukari rushed off in Junpei's direction. She found him covered in bruises from the impact of the hit. She summoned Io and green light descended upon Junpei, healing his wounds.

"You've got to be more careful, Stupei." she sighed as she continued to heal him.

"..." Junpei didn't speak, instead, he was trembling uncontrollably.

"Junpei?"

"We're gonna die aren't we?" he spoke with immense fear in his voice.

"No, we're not! What's gotten into you?!"

"Just look Yuka-tan! We're all tired and no matter how many times you heal us we're still going to be tired to get back up!"

Yukari then looked to Akihiko, who just narrowly avoided an attack from the emperor shadow. Mitsuru, on the other hand, wasn't fairing any better either, as she was trying to freeze both of their enemies in place, yet whenever she tried they seemed to somehow break free. And with Fuuka only awakening to Lucia moments prior, her powers were too slow to relay information quickly. Even so, Yukari stood up and rushed the enemy.

"Junpei… I'm not dying here! I won't give up! Not until I know what happened to my dad!"

Yukari summoned her persona and shot powerful wind magic, yet it seemingly had no effect. All her attacks managed to do was bring the shadow's attention to her. She took an arrow and drew it onto her bow, but before she could fire it; she was tackled by the empress. She landed directly in front of the emperor shadow who had looked down at her from its mighty height. It drew its sword and raised it high. It was ready to swing it down when a sudden motorcycle rev was heard in the distance.

"Orpheus!" A voice called out.

"Makoto?!" Yukari shouted in surprise.

Though her surprise didn't last too long as the emperor sent its sword crashing down. She winced and closed her eyes in fear. She should have died, but instead, a loud clang was heard; she looked up to see Orpheus' harp just barely preventing the sword from reaching her. She moved out of the way, and the sword made contact with the ground as Orpheus returned to its user.

"Hey," Makoto spoke casually.

"Took you long enough!" Yukari yelled.

"Yeah, I know. Want to help me though?" Makoto smiled.

"Tch. Idiot…" Yukari gave an angry smile. "Let's go then!"

"Right!"

Yukari stood up and faced the shadows, Makoto joined her and the two began attacking the shadows. Yukari fired arrow after arrow each one being coated in a fierce flame as Makoto shot bursts of fire into them. Each arrow dealt devastating damage, forcing both shadows onto their knees. Their barrage continued, until both shadows rose again, unflinchingly walking past Makoto's and Yukari's attacks. The shadows once again gained the upper hand and were standing tall in front of the pair. Makoto tried switching through his various personas and yet none seemed to do anything. The emperor smacked Makoto, sending him tumbling back.

"Makoto!" Yukari cried out running in his direction, however, the empress outran her acting as a blockade from reaching him.

"Damn you! Io come to me!"

"Wait stop!" Fuuka suddenly spoke out. "The enemy can switch its weakness, that's why our attacks go from useful to useless!"

"So what do you want me to do?!" Yukari demanded.

"U-umm, Dodge!"

Yukari barely dodged her opponent's incoming attack.

"Fuuka!" Yukari yelled out.

"S-sorry! Okay, the enemy is weak to electricity now!" Fuuka said.

"In that case, it's my turn. Polydeuces!" Akihiko called out as he rejoined the fight.

Polydeuces launched powerful bolts of electricity, wounding their enemy. The enemy became paralyzed unable to move, however, orbs appeared around it; signaling a change.

"There it's changing its weakness again! Use Ice!"

"Go, Pentheselia!" Mitsuru called forth her persona. "You'll fall by my hand!"

The shadows were frozen in place unable to move yet again. Black ash started leaking as gashes began to form all over the shadow's bodies from the onslaught. Once again they tried to switch their affinities.

"Wind and Fire are it's weakness now! Finish it!"

Makoto got up from he was and aimed his evoker at his head.

"Orpheus!"

"Io!" Yukari joined him.

Yukari and Makoto launched their attacks again, this time at full power. The shadows recoiled in pain as they tried to fight off the bursts of magic. They failed miserably as the pair gave more and more power causing the shadows to instantly dissipate into black ash. The battle was finally over, they had been won.

"W-we d-did it!" Yukari panted as she tried to regain her breath.

"Y-yeah we did," Makoto said.

"An excellent victory you two!" Mitsuru congratulated the pair.

"Congratulations you two! You make a pretty good pair." Akihiko added.

"H-Hey what about me?" Junpei asked.

"You helped too, Iori… Even if you sat back for a bit." Mitsuru said.

"Hey! What's that supposed to mean?!"

The group shared a laugh as Junpei desperately tried to display his heroics. Fuuka meanwhile had finally withdrawn Lucia and fell to the ground, finally feeling the fatigue from the battle. The team quickly approached her and helped her back up. Junpei and Akihiko held her from arm to arm as they walked back to the dorm from Tartarus. Mitsuru followed closely behind them making sure they had a good hold of Fuuka. Only Makoto and Yukari remained just slightly behind the rest of the group. Yukari still couldn't believe that Makoto had shown up to save them. She figured with how his usual behavior was he would have stayed behind. But Makoto did not, and she was happy for it. She'd be lying to herself now if she said she didn't want him there. She looked at him with a happy smile, to which he took notice.

"What's with the smile?" Makoto asked.

"Oh, Nothing!" she began to blush. "Actually…"

"Yeah?"

"Nevermind, it can wait until tomorrow, you must be tired right?"

"I guess so," Makoto said in his usual demeanor.

Yukari nodded and went on ahead of him, but just before she was completely out of his range, Makoto asked something of her.

"Hey, Yukari would you like to walk to school together tomorrow?"

Yukari stopped dead in her tracks. Did she hear him right? Did he want to walk with her tomorrow? Did he invite her? She was unbelievably surprised but happy at the same time. A warm feeling filled her heart before she shot him a smile, finally giving him an answer.

"I'd like that."

Yukari continued to walk towards the dorm. Meanwhile, Makoto for the first time in a while had learned what it meant to feel again. For once, waiting for the next day didn't seem so dull anymore. _How strange. _He thought to himself. Changing wasn't so bad, after all, it brought him closer to those he could consider real friends.

He eventually caught up with the rest of the group and entered the dorm knowing that tonight would his true peaceful rest in a while.

It was tomorrow already, and as the two had agreed; Makoto and Yukari walked to school together. However, this time it wasn't a one-sided conversation that Yukari desperately tried to start up. Now both of them talked about things they looked forward too. Makoto turned out to be quite the comedian himself, making Yukari laugh with the occasion. That was something she did not expect from him and it made her like him even more. _As a friend though._ she thought to herself.

Though, for as surprised as Yukari was with this side of Makoto, one question remained in her head. What changed? Why did he come last night?

"Hey, Makoto-"

"Yukari I-"

The two interrupted each other.

"Oh, you go first." Yukari offered.

"N-no, I cut you off."

"Well, in that case. Why did you come? What changed."

"Heh. We both thought of the same thing…" Makoto paused. "You were right, Yukari. I was, no I am lonely. I remembered why I wanted to forget. Why I behaved the way I did."

"What was it? she asked.

"My parent's death," he said flatly. "But I think it's a good thing I remembered. It's almost like a part of me is back because of it."

Yukari couldn't help but feel bad; not out of pity, but for behaving so rudely to him. Even if her best intentions were the cause of it, she realized she could have dealt with it better. She knew what it was like losing her parents. Well, she had only lost her father, but her mother and she weren't on the best terms, so it felt as though her mother was gone too. The silence between the two grew. Yukari didn't know what to say next or what to do, except apologize.

"I'm sorry, I should've-"

"Don't apologize. You were just trying to help yeah?" Makoto said.

"But!"

But what? Seriously it's okay." Makoto extended his out. "Friends?"

"Friends." Yukari chuckled. "Come on, we should get going or we're gonna be late."

"Yeah."

The pair continued their walk to Gekkoukan. At the entrance, a rather happy Junpei and Fuuka joined them in the last few minutes before the first bell rang. The group shared small laughs in between as they got to know more about Fuuka and how awkward she could be. And Junpei continued his usual banter of being the best, while Yukari shut him down again. In that brief moment, Makoto couldn't help but think to himself and give a silent sigh of content.

_So these are friends huh. I like it._


End file.
